A Novel Slot Filling Algorithm for Automated Time Table Generation of Academic Institutions

Setting academic time table for educational institutions has always been a complex task and the complexity increases with number of classes and courses. The manual generation of time tables is not always optimal and may not guarantee satisfaction from faculty as well as students. Besides, a time table may occasionally have to be revised to accommodate the dynamic needs of the institution. All these result in suboptimal utilization of resources, leading to a decline in the performance of teachers as well as students. The paper proposes an automated time table generation system, TimeGen, that utilizes the available resources in an efficient manner. We propose a novel algorithm for filling the slots in the time table so as to ensure satisfaction of both teachers and students. It aims to enhance diversity and efficiency by minimizing the scheduling of consecutive classes with the same subject, improving the experience for both students and faculty. We have tested our system for the academic time table generation and have found that it is far more efficient than the manual system and ensures flexibility and accuracy in assigning courses, classes and faculty.